Pushover (film)
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| Pushover | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover |
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| Directed by | Richard Quine |
| Produced by | Jules Schermer |
| Written by | Bill S. Ballinger (novel) Thomas Walsh (novel) Roy Huggins |
| Starring | Fred MacMurray Philip Carey Kim Novak |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 30, 1954 U.S. release |
| Running time | 88 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Pushover is a 1954 film notable for being the first film to feature Kim Novak in a starring role. The RKO picture, considered film noir, also stars Fred MacMurray as a good cop gone bad.
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[edit] Plot
An honest cop is tasked to track down over 200-thousand dollars in the hands of a gangster after a bank robbery. The cop puts 24-hour surveillance on Lona McLane - a girlfriend of one of the robbers. The cop quickly falls in love with Lona, who, when she finds out he's a policeman, tries to persuade him to kill Wheeler so the two can take off with the cash. He initially resists, but eventually agrees to kill Wheeler. But after the killing he finds that he also has to kill his detective partner too, in order to cover his tracks. Almost all the action takes place, at night, in the U-shaped apartment building where Lona lives.
[edit] Reaction
Reviews for the film are mixed. Most critics find the film's plot similar to other film noir, but Kim Novak is usually singled out as a rising photogenic star in most reviews. "An aging cop (Fred MacMurray) falls in love with a bank robber's girlfriend (Kim Novak in her first major role, and if you're as much of a pushover for her early work as I am, you can't afford to miss this)." -Chicago Reader [1]
[edit] Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Fred MacMurray | Paul Sheridan |
| Philip Carey | Rick McAllister |
| Kim Novak | Lona McLane |
| Dorothy Malone | Ann Stewart |
| E. G. Marshall | Lieutenant Carl Eckstrom |
